Thursday, 30 July 2009

MUMBAI: Music packaging is all set to take a cue from Bollywood's bombshells--come August, it will also be available in size zero. Says music kingpin Bhushan Kumar of T-Series, which controls a sizeable slice of the Bollywood music pie, "Get ready for a pleasant surprise. Music will now have a new shape.''

The new shape--the pen drive and the micro chip--is totally in tune with GenNext lifestyles, says Bhushan, who initiated R&D in the concept over a year ago. "The music market is getting younger, and digital platforms are the in thing,'' he says. "With mobile memory chips, you can carry music on your phone; pen drives can be used on laptops and even car audio systems.'' T-Series will kick-start the pen drive movement with A R Rahman's track for `Blue' in August/September.

A music industry source says that new releases will come on a 1 GB pen drive along with older titles from the company; there will also be free space for the user to download music of his choice. Kumar Taurani of Tips, the other big player on the Bollywood music scene, believes the move will revolutionise the music industry. "Music companies can monetise this by releasing their entire past libraries in the new format,'' he says.

Sony Music, HMV-Sa Re Ga Ma and Junglee Music are some of the other players in Bollywood who are studying the feasibility of introducing pen drives/memory chips. Mobile giant Nokia, in association with T-Series, is also launching a memory chip that will have the latest songs and will come free with certain music phone models.

While flash drives or pen drives with legal music have proved to be a hit abroad, will this work in India, given the higher price tag as compared to a CD or cassette? Market sources say that right now, none of the companies in the fray are factoring in a profit margin--the aim is to entice buyers and build up a consumer bank. Bhushan, on his part, is optimistic that the step will change music consumption to a great degree.

"Several music companies are looking to do this, as this is the way to go. As holders of music rights we were foreseeing this. It will certainly give a boost to the music industry. It will also curb piracy to an extent as those who presently download from the Net will have access to original music in digital format,'' says Priti Shahni of Indian films.